Phillies Player Reviews: The Under 25 PA Club

Inciarte’s improbable run to the Phillies provided Spring Training’s most fun storyline to follow in 2013. Photo: Philly.com

The Phillies had seven players travel with their Major League roster and accrue 25 plate appearances or less. Like other years, we are unable to give true grades to these players, but it is certainly worth discussing their presence on the team.

Ender Inciarte –If you blinked, you likely missed Inciarte’s time with the Phils. Inciarte was the Phillies Rule 5 draft pick and, as such, had to remain on the active 25-man roster the entire year or be offered back to the team he was selected from. Inciarte was with the Phillies for exactly one game, the season opener in Atlanta, before being sent back to Arizona in favor of Ezequiel Carrera. Inciarte was known as a speed and defensive specialist and the 22-year old did not disappoint for Arizona’s Double-A Mobile, hitting .281/.327/.362 with 43 steals in 51 chances. I wish the Phillies could have hung on to Inciarte in some capacity but it was not in the cards. Inciarte’s time on the 25-man roster without appearing in a game puts him in the unique group of Phantom ballplayers.

Cameron Rupp –The player on this list that Phillies fans will likely see the most of over the next several years, the 25-year old Rupp took advantage of the playing time he received due to injuries to Sebastian Valle (his platoon partner to start the year in Reading) and Tommy Joseph (out for most of the year with a concussion at Triple-A), hitting a career-high 14 home runs and a .437 SLG% across Reading and Lehigh Valley. Rupp looked comfortable defensively behind the plate in his September call-up with the Phillies and went 4-13 with a double in four games. Rupp will likely compete for the back-up catcher’s job in 2014 and will figure into the Phillies catching plans for the next several years.

Steve Susdorf – Susdorf appeared in three games for the Phillies after being called up from July 25 through July 28. His most notable play with the Phillies was likely a dropped pop fly against the Tigers in a 12-4 loss but it should take nothing away from what the 27-year old Susdorf accomplished: a .313/.390/.403 line in Triple-A with 11 steals in 18 chances and his first taste of Major League action. Susdorf is a minor league free agent this off-season, but if his familiarity with the Lehigh Valley is any indication, Susdorf may return to the Phillies organization.

Ezequiel Carrera – The Phillies selected Carrera off of waivers from Cleveland on April 2, 2013. The then 25-year old outfielder was brought in to bolster the outfield depth. Carrera was used primarily as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter, appearing in13 games but accumulating only 16 PA. Carrera had just one hit, posting a triple-slash of .077/.250/.077. Cleveland claimed Carrera off waivers from the Fightins on May 2, where he would play in just two games. He would spend most of the year in Triple-A Columbus.

Steven Lerud –Lerud saw action in just six games for the Phillies in 2013, ending with a .000/.000/.000 line in five PA. Lerud has likely been surpassed in the organization as an emergency catcher by Rupp. Lerud hit just .217/.353/.311 in 219 PA with the IronPigs in 2013.

Pete Orr –Orr saw action in 15 games for the Phillies in 2013, hitting .200/.273/.200, playing two games in left field and two at third. Orr, now 34 years old, filled in just about as well as you’d ask for when you get to Orr on the depth chart. Orr hit .258/.300/.385 with four homers and nine steals in sixteen attempts.

John McDonald –The Phillies had two players on their active roster in 2013 that ended up being on the active roster for five Major League teams in 2013. Casper Wells was one, McDonald the other. McDonald played second, short, third, left field, and pitched a third of an inning for the Phillies in 2013 . Across 2013, McDonald was worth -0.9 WAR according to FanGraphs in just 77 PA, making him among the statistically least valuable players per plate appearance in the Majors.